I am gathering all info to see what I need to make this happen. Is it possible to make a configuration where I can have like 1 lightgroup (or what is it called) for each step in my staircase? I was first considering a ws2812 but got the suggestion to go for the SK6812 to get white light possibility, does that work with HA and a nodemcu?
how silly of me (sorry so many moving parts I am trying to get a grip of things), but I should be able to use
https://esphome.io/components/light/partition.html to import that as multiple lights right?
I believe so, but people say that wled is easier to work with. Same hardware 
And better effects.
I will try WLED then, looks great. Just have to wait for my shipment to arrive with all the stuff
WLED will work, but you’ll need to segment out each strip to a separate controller. WLED doesn’t support partitions in the lighting elements (each stair step) and without modifying the code base, you’re not going to be able to address 11 data outputs off a single controller. WLED defaults to pin D4 as the output, so you’d need to add code to handle additional output pins.
Another way to accomplish this would be to use something like an Arduino Mega that would have a data wire going to each strip of lights on each step (along with a common ground wire). Then, expose that to HA using something like the Arduino Rest Framework and use the FastLED library to control the strips. It’s a lot more programming, but if you want each individual stair to light up independently of the others, it’s the only way I can think of to do it without having 11 separate controllers.
1 Like
What’s the point of addressable lights if I cant partition them? So maybe I have to go back to my oriingal idea with ESPHome which has some sort of support for “partional light” ?
I agree completely. That’s why I pointed out that WLED doesn’t support it. Yeah, ESPHome would be a much better choice except for the possibility of running out of memory (depending on how many LEDs will be in each strip). Also, I have to apologize as I didn’t read all the posts above, so I didn’t see that someone else pointed out ESPHome.
Which board are you planning on using to drive this and how many LEDs?
1 Like
No need to apologize, I am just happy to get some help!
This board: ESP8266 NodeMCU LUA CP2102 ESP-12F WiFi Internet Development Board Serial Wireless Module for Arduino IDE/Micropython New Version
its 60 led / m (someone pointed out that 30 led/m was “ugly” as the leds would be too visible so I “upgraded” to 60led/m.
10m so 600 led. Is that doable?
You might run into memory issues with that board (I think it has the 1mb flash on it, but I’m not 100% sure of that). You can figure out the specs when you receive them and test it.
These are the ones that I use. They have a 4mb flash memory, so a bit more room to run and also the CH340 chipset which is a bit zippier in terms of processing power. I use them primarily for my holiday light shows (I have ~15 of them running WLED that I use along with LightShowPi for Halloween/Christmas lights).
As for the leds, yeah, 600 should be fine. I’ve run strips of 1024 pixels before without an issue. So, the next question is how are you planning on dividing these up and what you are planning on for power? 5v or 12v?
1 Like
Btw found this:
Which seem to be able to seperate the strip into segment and from Home Assistant WLED page:
“Home Assistant treats every segment of the LED strip as a separate light entity.”
I just looked that up. Yeah, WLED added segments in .90_b1 (I’ve been running 0.85 and never upgraded due to issues with 0.86). But, according to the docs, you can only do up to 10 segments. So, that wouldn’t work for your project:
“You can now divide your LEDs into up to 10 segments, each running different effects”
[Edit]: Now I have to go an update all my controllers! LOL
1 Like
For power I bought this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/BTF-LIGHTING-Aluminum-WS2812B-LED8806-Modules/dp/B01D8FLZV6
The strips are sk6812 which are 5v.
I have no idea how to wire everything . I have been reading about voltage drop being an issue so I need to supply power not only from the start but to multiple parts of the strip.
Also from some Arduino forum it’s suggested that I use a capacitor for helping when a big fast power change occurs. And also a small recistor on the data line.
Also to use “thicker” cables for the power.
Edit,: 10 segments… When I need 11 
Power injection will need to be done for 10m. The way that you’ll want to do it is to break the strip up into the 11 segments and run power (and ground) to each strip but have the data wire be continuous throughout the entire run. If you break the data wire up, you’ll end up with 11 segments that will all respond at the same time; Not what you want. You’ll want to use 18ga wire at a minimum. 16ga would be better, but 18ga should be fine. As for the capacitor, it’s a good idea, but often times you can get away without it so long as the power supply is connected to a clean line free from spikes. You could use a conditioning power strip that would smooth out the spikes before they ever get to your power supply as well.
This is how you will want to wire it up. (Excuse me using NodeRed as a model tool, but I was already working in it lol)
Power goes to each strip along with a ground wire. Those ground wires also go to a ground pin on the NodeMCU. Your data wire comes off of pin D4 on the NodeMCU and flows through in a serpentine pattern to each strip.
[Edit]: I was thinking a bit more about this and you may want to get a couple of power distribution blocks (one for power and one for ground):
This will help tidy up the wiring coming off the power supply.
1 Like
Awesome! You gave me a lot to read up on! That node red diagram for the wiring was great. I found some 18ag and 16ga cable on Amazon(eu), just a follow up question. The cables looks quite big so do I need some special connector so I can solder on the cable to the LED strip as the surface area for the LED strip +/-/data seem quite small ?
Can’t wait to get my hands on my stuff! Bought a ws2812 with fewer LED so I can try out that part first (in case I ruin something) before I dig into the sk6812
No problem!
You can go as small as 22ga for the data wire, but I’d recommend staying with something like 18ga; It
should work for all your connections (power, ground and data) and you can solder it directly to to the strips. The pads on the strips look small, but 18ga is pretty much all I use for my LEDs. You could also use 3 pin connectors and then do jumpers between them.
This is the wire that I use pretty much exclusively. It’s super easy to work with and I’ve never had any issues with it.
Is it easier to get like this:
Since it’s a single cable instead of 3in1 since I don’t connect all 3 outputs from one strip to the next?
Guess I need some sort of connector to the thermal distribution block?
Yup. That works just as well. Typically what I do in situations like yours is to pull the black wire (which is what I use for data) out of the bundle and run it separately and then use power and ground together in the bundle. You could serpentine run all three cables (power, ground, data) into the next strip, but you’ll still want to do power injection somewhere along the line; Maybe at like the 5th and 9th strip. It’s really up to you on how you do it. You might also find that you don’t need to do any power injection at all. But, at 100% brightness, you’ll probably see some power drop off near the last 2-3 strips. If you aren’t planning on running at 100% ever, then power injection is moot.
Thermal distribution block? You mean the power/ground distribution blocks? Nope. You can just trap the wire under the screw connectors. Or, you could use Y type/spade wire connectors. I sometimes use those… just depends on the project I’m doing.
1 Like
If you ever get this completely figured out, I would to see a full write-up!
1 Like